Uinta Basin Railway

[Pensyfan19]

Just got greenlighted thanks to Drexel Hamilton Infrastructure Partners! Can't wait to see this new line up and running!

https://www.railwayage.com/freight/shor ... annel=news

Drexel Hamilton Infrastructure Partners, LP (DHIP) and the State of Utah’s Seven County Infrastructure Coalition (Coalition) on Sept 8 executed an agreement to advance the Uinta Basin Railway, a new railroad to be constructed and operated by Fort Worth-Tex.-based Rio Grande Pacific Corp. to serve the mineral, agricultural, and construction industries of northeastern Utah’s Uinta Basin.

Under the agreement, DHIP will purchase the Coalition’s intellectual property funded by Utah’s Community Impact Board, and DHIP will have the exclusive right to develop the railroad. The Coalition is described a “an independent political subdivision of the State of Utah with seven member counties in eastern and central Utah: Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, San Juan, Sevier, and Uintah. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2021, with operations commencing by 2023.

“We are excited to have reached an agreement with the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition to be the exclusive developer of the Uinta Basin Railway,” said DHIP Managing Partner Mark Michel. “This railroad will be a vital transportation outlet for commodities important to the growth of the American economy and will be an important driver of economic development for the state of Utah as a whole, and especially for eastern Utah. We also appreciate the important partnership we have with the Ute Indian Tribe. We look forward to their ongoing involvement in the project.”

“Rio Grande Pacific looks forward to working with the Coalition and the Ute Tribe to fully satisfy the federal, state, and tribal authorizations required to construct and operate the railway” said Rio Grande Pacific Senior Vice President Mark Hemphill. “This project is critical to our nation’s desire to achieve domestic energy and resource independence.”

“The project has early and on-going local community support in conjunction with advocacy from local, state and federal elected officials as well as the involvement of the Ute Indian Tribe,” said Coalition Executive Director Mike McKee. “DHIP and Rio Grande Pacific are now providing the project with the momentum needed in order to advance to the next stage and ultimate final construction and completion.”

[Pensyfan19]

Let's build this!

https://www.railwayage.com/regulatory/s ... RAchannel=

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Dec. 15 approved the construction and operation of the Uinta Basin Railway in Utah; STB Chairman Martin Oberman dissented.

Approval is subject to the STB Office of Environmental Analysis’ (OEA) final recommended environmental mitigation measures, with minor changes.

In August, OEA issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project, identifying the 88-mile Whitmore Park Alternative as the environmentally preferred route, one of three analyzed. It would extend from two terminus points in northeastern Utah’s Uinta Basin near Myton and Leland Bench to a connection with the existing Union Pacific Provo Subdivision near Kyune (see map below). The route includes five tunnels, totaling 5.7 miles. The estimated construction cost is approximately $1.35 billion.

[Jeff Smith]

Redoing the review: Vail Daily

Uinta Basin Railway derailed, but not officially dead yet

The Uinta Basin Railway might have been derailed, but it can still get back on some kind of track.

The US Court of Appeals sided with Eagle County, and other Colorado and local leaders, to halt the Uinta Basin Railway on Aug. 15, citing the Environmental Impact Statement as deficient.

The court found numerous National Environmental Policy Act violations arising from the EIS, according to the court, including failures to:
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[Jeff Smith]

https://coloradosun.com/2024/01/18/fore ... n-railway/

Forest Service pulls right-of-way permit that would have allowed construction of Uinta Basin Railway

SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Forest Service on Wednesday withdrew its approval of a right-of-way permit that would have allowed the construction of a railroad project through about 12 miles of roadless, protected forest in northeastern Utah.

The decision affecting the Ashley National Forest follows a U.S. appeals court ruling in August that struck down a critical approval involving the Uinta Basin Railway, a proposed 88-mile railroad line that would connect oil and gas producers in rural Utah to the broader rail network. It would allow them to access larger markets and ultimately sell to refineries near the Gulf of Mexico.

“It’s a victory for the Colorado River and nearby communities that would be threatened by oil train accidents and spills, and for residents of the Gulf Coast, where billions of gallons of oil would be refined,” said Ted Zukoski, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of several groups that has sued over the project.
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[BR&P]

“It’s a victory for the Colorado River and nearby communities that would be threatened by oil train accidents and spills, and for residents of the Gulf Coast, where billions of gallons of oil would be refined,” said Ted Zukoski, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of several groups that has sued over the project.

I would presume that with this marvelous news, there will be no oil refined on the Gulf Coast? And I'm SURE the esteemed attorney quoted uses tallow candles and rides a horse to and from work, rather than using things made from that nasty oil stuff.

GMAFB!